Surviving the Malibu Blazes

Here is a picture of my work, JAKKS Pacific, almost completely hidden by smoke from the most recent Malibu fires. Good 'ol JAKKS came very close to burning down in the fires - but thanks to the amazing fire fighters who worked tirelessly to keep Malibu safe, I still had to go into work that following Monday . . .

A large patch of the beautiful Pepperdine entryway hill was burned - right up to the edge of the giant cross at the base of the campus. Luckily, the school and students were all kept safe.

THE COPIER CABANA

After Matt took the California Bar Exam, we put our belongings into storage, said goodbye to our dream life in Malibu, and moved to what would become our headquarters for the next two months: the Copier Cabana - a quaint little bed and breakfast in the heart of Salt Lake. Who needs Malibu when you get to wake up to this every day!!

Gittin' all gussied up with the P-Dine Crew

Halloween '06:

Matt and Whitney as Garth and his Dream Girl . . . Excellent . . .

Becca and Ryan as Hansel and Gretel

Scott and Shellie as swashbuckling pirates

Our beloved Malibu Crew (please take note of the amazing costumes of Mugatu and Katinka - aka Alex and Danya. They even had a little stuffed dog to complete the look)

Last Hurrah Before Entering the Working World

SAILIN' AWAY INTO THE GREAT CRYSTAL CLEAR, SEA-GREEN YONDER . . .

After Matt took the dreaded California Bar Exam and before he started working, we took a cruise down to Cabo San Lucas. It was our first cruise and, as Matt would put it, "we rejoiced exceedingly." It was the funnest, most relaxing trip that we've ever had. Our very first day aboard the Carnival Imagination, Matt began scheming to try and figure out a way that we could take up residency on a cruise ship.

Even though we tried our best to act all sophisticated, the truth is, we were in the lowest, cheapest, and last room on the ship. We slept right above the motors and the anchors - you can see them in the image above. We could hear the anchors creaking and grumbling in the wee-hours of the morning, every time we stopped in at a port.

As you can see, we were thoroughly amused by the towel animal creations that were left for us by the cleaning crew each day . . .
Now, if you're wondering what on earth kind of animal is in the second picture above, you'll have to ask Matt. He must have been a bit jealous by my excitement over the elephant, because he immediately set about creating his own towel-animal masterpiece. After duplicating the elephant perfectly, he decided to show off his skills by coming up with his own creation . . .

Here we have Matt lining up for the putt, trying to hold the ball steady through the wind and uneven rocking of the ship. Then, we have a brief snapshot capturing my moment of glory after beating Matt at our windswept game of midnight, rooftop, putt-putt golf. To fully appreciate the joy of the moment for me, you have to understand that this win came after losing to Matt over 20 times during the course of our cruise. I went on to lose many more, but I will never forget that moment of triumph!! (and I'll never let Matt forget it either!)

Some of our other cruisin' activities included waverunning around Cabo, keeping up with the Yankees' advancement toward the World Series, AND. . .

EATING . . . . AND EATING . . . AND EATING . . . AND EATING . . .

What can I say, we had an amazing post Bar trip!!

The beautiful view at the port of Cabo San Lucas.

River Rafting in Oregon

The Vandermyde River Rafting Crew:

Me and Matt, Lindsay and Brandon, and Adam and Michelle

We make them Vandermyde boys look good!!

HOW IT ALL WENT DOWN . . .

and under . . .

and back up again . . .

See if you can tell which one is me . . . am I in the white, purple, or orange helmet? Good Luck!!

The craziest part of the trip was when we were road-tripping it back to Utah and stopped off at a waterfall along the side of the road . . . Matt and I were minding our own business, taking a cute little couples picture, when up walks none other than my childhood buddy Kirsten Myers. She was serving her mission at the time and happened to be visiting the waterfall on her P-Day. That was the craziest, most random encounter ever!!

My Hubby, The Pilot

During Matt's last semester of Law School, he found that he had a bit of time on his hands so he decided to pursue one of his lifetime goals of getting his private pilot's license. He completed the training within 3 months and now is a bonafide pilot. Flying is his favorite activity. He'll use any excuse to hit the skies and I love to be right there alongside him. I really enjoy flying with Matt and seeing how excited he gets about it. It's so fun to be able to have this adventure to do together.